A Hellacious Tabata

A tabata is a particular kind of high intensity interval training, in which you work a pair of exercises for 20 seconds at a time, with a 10 second rest between them, for a total of 4 minutes.

One slice of a tabata workout might look like:

• 00:00 – 00:20: Pushups
• 00:20 – 00:30: Rest
• 00:30 – 00:50: Squats
• 00:50 – 01:00: Rest

You’d repeat that four times, for a total of 8 units of hard work. If you can get the intensity right (which is difficult), it’s one hell of a workout.

The way I’ve done them as part of SexyShred has been three sets of the 4 minute workout, with different pairs of exercises in each set. You’d rest 1 minute between sets. A complete 15 minute workout would look something like:

1. pushups/squats for 4 minutes
2. jump rope/bicep curls for 4 minutes
3. tricep kickbacks/lunges for 4 minutes

In this final week of SexyShred, I’m tasked with designing my own tabata workout. It’s a doozy.

1. (Assisted) Glute-ham raises; sissy squats
2. Good mornings; squats
3. Teasers; hyperextensions
4. Plank to pushups (includes actual pushup); tricep dips
5. Flyes; dumbbell rows
6. Overhead triceps extensions; dumbbell military press

This is a half-hour total, but I’m still working through the ordering of the sets.